The war over which system — the BRICS or the corpse of Trans-Atlantic finance — will hold power in Brazil, has escalated into hourly hand-to-hand combat. President Dilma Rousseff swore former President Lula da Silva in as chief of staff of the cabinet this morning (along with several other cabinet shifts), only to have a federal judge who has repeatedly called for Rousseff to resign, and has personally participated in numerous opposition demonstrations, issue an injunction, an hour later, forbidding Lula from serving in the cabinet.

“Coups begin this way,” President Dilma Rousseff stated in her speech at the swearing-in ceremony, emphasizing the flagrant violation of constitutional principles being carried out in the name of “uprooting corruption,” most especially the utter disregard for the principles of the presumption of innocence and a citizen’s right to defense.

“Brazil cannot become submissive to a conspiracy which violates the Constitutional prerogatives of the President of the Republic,” she said. “Not because the President of the Republic is different from other citizens, but because if they can harm the prerogatives of the President of the Republic, what will they do to the prerogatives of the citizens?”

Less than an hour later, Federal Judge Preta Neto did exactly what Rousseff had identified as steps towards a coup. He issued a restraining order against Lula’s appointment, on the basis of a filing by three opposition parties in 27 different federal courts yesterday, which argued that Lula’s appointment be blocked, and the President herself charged with “the crime of disobedience and obstruction of justice” for daring to name him.

The Attorney General filed this afternoon to overturn Preta Neto’s ruling. Tomorrow, national demonstrations in support of the government and democratic governance have been called by a coalition led by the Workers Party, of some 50 trade union federations, social movements, and parties which support the government